girls' name ★ peaked 1958

Kathy

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #3,274 Trend ↓ Falling 28%

A diminutive of the female given names Katherine and Kathleen, also used as a formal given name.

Rank 2025
#3,274
among girls · ↓566 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
48
named Kathy · -25% vs 2024
How common
1 in 33,485
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1958
23,983 babies
All-time total
334,870
#114 all-time among girls
First recorded
1910
in Social Security records

Kathy popularity over time

334,870 babies have been named Kathy since 1910, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s 57 – 57 6 – #2,594
1920s 198 – 198 20 +247% #1,270
1930s 1,254 – 1,254 125 +533% #328
1940s 34,766 78 34,844 3,484 +2679% #42
1950s 157,930 296 158,226 15,823 +354% #14
1960s 101,127 248 101,375 10,138 -36% #21
1970s 22,706 88 22,794 2,279 -78% #77
1980s 6,977 29 7,006 701 -69% #255
1990s 4,312 – 4,312 431 -38% #503
2000s 3,021 – 3,021 302 -30% #652
2010s 1,381 – 1,381 138 -54% #1,261
2020s (to 2025) 402 – 402 67 -51% #2,183

Where Kathy is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 45 0.03 outside top 500
2027 43 0.03 outside top 500
2028 41 0.03 outside top 500
2029 40 0.02 outside top 500
2030 39 0.02 outside top 500

Where Kathy is most popular

Girls named Kathy per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.039 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Kathy born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
California 67 0.080 +103%
Ohio 13 0.055 +39%
Pennsylvania 11 0.047 +18%
Michigan 6 0.033 -16%
Texas 24 0.030 -24%
New York 6 0.015 -61%
Florida 5 0.012 -70%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Kathy

Kathy is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #3,274 in 2025 with 48 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1910, 334,870 American babies have been named Kathy. Its peak came in 1958, when 23,983 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Kathy stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Kathy?

The median living Kathy is about 66 years old; half are between 61 and 71. An estimated 284 thousand people named Kathy are alive in the United States today.

median 66 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Kathy year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 48 #3,274 – –
2024 64 #2,708 – –
2023 60 #2,834 – –
2022 75 #2,437 – –
2021 72 #2,469 – –
2020 83 #2,183 – –
2019 76 #2,365 – –
2018 91 #2,107 – –
2017 111 #1,849 – –
2016 159 #1,451 – –
2015 126 #1,690 – –
2014 142 #1,539 – –
2013 139 #1,560 – –
2012 176 #1,335 – –
2011 171 #1,352 – –
2010 190 #1,261 – –
2009 204 #1,222 – –
2008 268 #992 – –
2007 294 #921 – –
2006 294 #903 – –
2005 286 #884 – –
2004 283 #869 – –
2003 308 #803 – –
2002 362 #694 – –
2001 343 #716 – –
2000 379 #652 – –
1995 409 #564 – –
1990 477 #504 – –
1985 617 #370 – –
1980 1,010 #255 7 #5,233
1975 1,689 #160 12 #3,153
1970 4,797 #77 12 #2,798
1965 7,762 #54 21 #1,753
1960 18,478 #21 42 #1,220
1955 15,324 #22 32 #1,354
1950 9,090 #38 22 #1,591
1945 2,753 #101 – –
1940 604 #256 – –
1935 99 #671 – –
1930 29 #1,446 – –
1925 9 #3,514 – –
1920 10 #3,226 – –
1915 10 #2,803 – –
1910 5 #2,594 – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Kathy

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Kathy Bates Kathy Bates American actress (born 1948) Contemporary
  2. 2 Kathy Najimy Kathy Najimy American actress (born 1957) Contemporary
  3. 3 Kathy Hilton Kathy Hilton American socialite (born 1959) Contemporary
  4. 4 Kathy Griffin Kathy Griffin American comedian and actress (born 1960) Contemporary
  5. 5 Kathy Baker Kathy Baker American actress (born 1950) Contemporary
  6. 6 Kathy Burke British actress (born 1964) Contemporary
  7. 7 Kathy Ireland Kathy Ireland American model, actress, and businesswoman (born 1963) Contemporary
  8. 8 Kathy Reichs Kathy Reichs American writer and forensic anthropologist b. 1948 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Kathy Acker Kathy Acker American novelist and playwright (1947–1997) Contemporary
  10. 10 Kathy Kirby Kathy Kirby English singer (1938–2011) Contemporary
  11. 11 Kathy Smallwood-Cook British Olympic sprinter b. 1960 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Kathy Jordan American tennis player (born 1959) Contemporary
  13. 13 Kathy Watt Kathy Watt Australian cyclist b. 1964 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Kathy, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Kathy?

The median living Kathy is about 66 years old. Half of all living Kathys are between 61 and 71 years old.

How many people named Kathy are alive today?

An estimated 284 thousand people named Kathy are alive in the United States, based on 334,870 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Kathy mean?

A diminutive of the female given names Katherine and Kathleen, also used as a formal given name.

How popular is the name Kathy in 2025?

Kathy ranked #3,274 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 48 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Kathy?

334,870 babies have been named Kathy in the United States since 1910, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Kathy most popular?

Kathy peaked in 1958, when 23,983 newborns received the name.

Is Kathy a boy or girl name?

Kathy is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Kathy rising or falling?

Kathy is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Kathy become more popular?

Kathy is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 39 girls named Kathy in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Kathy?

Well-known people named Kathy include Kathy Bates (actor), Kathy Najimy (actor), Kathy Hilton (actor).

Names like Kathy

Names that sound and feel close to Kathy: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Kathy with similar names → More names starting with K →